Doesn't Matter What You Look Like
by Write-To-You
Summary: Shawn convinces Gus to help him get back in shape in order to impress Juliet into liking him.


**Author's Note: It took me a good seven minutes to come up for a title for this story, and I** ** _still_** **hate it. So if any of you have ideas, please let me know :D**

"GUS!"

Burton Guster looked up, surprised at the arrival of his best friend and partner in mostly-solving-but-also-sometimes-participating-in crime. "Shawn! What're you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Shawn spread his arms wide and his grin wider. "How better then to spend this _beautiful_ day in the Psych office with my best buddy?"

Gus glanced at the window.

It was pouring.

"I thought you were asking Jules out this morning?" Gus said, giving Shawn a suspicious look. The pseudo-psychic seemed jolly enough, but Gus knew firsthand how good of an act his friend could put on.

Shawn deflated the tiniest of bits. "Yes, and I was _going_ to, until I got to the precinct. Did you know that they changed the front decorations? They put these odd palm trees on the steps which I think would be perfect for anytime we wanted to hide and sneak in for a case-"

"Stop stalling, Shawn," Gus deadpanned.

"Great alliteration, dude!" Shawn peeped, his grin now looking more forced. "Can we add to that? Stop stalling, stupid Shawn's shoes. Or Shawn's stupid shoes. Or-

" _Shawn_ ," Gus ground out. " _What did Juliet say_?!"

Shawn slumped into a chair, pouting. "I didn't ask, okay? I got to the precinct and there was this random dude over by her chair and he kissed her."

Gus winced. "I'm sorry, man. That sucks."

Shawn slapped his leg, hopping to his feet again. "BUT! I have had a reevaluation!"

"It's a revaluation, Shawn."

"I've heard it both ways."

"No you have not."

" _Gus,_ do you want to know what I was going to say or not?!" Shawn groaned. Gus stayed quiet, which was a good sign as any for Shawn to continue. " _Anyway_ , I have had a "revaluation", as you call it, as to why Juliet doesn't like me!"

"Because your immature and you don't take anything seriously?" Gus asked dryly.

"No!" Shawn exclaimed, choosing not to react to the diss. "It's because this form of mine has gone by the wayside." He patted his stomach lightly, grinning at Gus. "You know, us studious ones don't have time to exercise, and it starts to take it's toll."

"You're not studious, Shawn," Gus said, rolling his eyes. "And I don't think that that's why Juliet doesn't like you."

"Of course it is!" Shawn said firmly, planting his hands on Gus' desk. "And now here comes my brilliant idea. You, Burton Guster, are going to help me get back in Jules-Shape."

Gus leaned back, considering the proposition. After a very short pause, he nodded. "Sounds good to me. But we are _not_ calling it Jules-Shape."

"Gus, don't be the black ballet socks that nobody uses-"

"Ballet socks don't exist."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy. Now let's go!"

 **linebreaker**

"Gus-" Shawn gasped, each pound of his feet heavy and each breath labored. "I can't breathe. I think that- that- I'm _dying_."

Gus, who was pedaling contentedly on his nonmoving gym bicycle, rolled his eyes and peeked over at Shawn's treadmill. "Dude, you're on speed 2."

Shawn straightened, suddenly seeming to realize that he could move at a snails pace with no problem at the speed his treadmill was going. "Oh."

"If you're going to want to get ripped enough for Juliet to actually notice a difference, you're gonna need to get up to at least a 10," Gus said. "Get those jogging legs on."

"Yes, sir," Shawn said, winking at a semi-attractive girl that had just walked into the gym and upping his treadmill speed.

Gus sighed. "See, Shawn, that's what I'm talking about."

"I know! I'm already at 11 and I feel _great_."

"No, the other bit," Gus said. "The part that I said in the office, about your inability to take things seriously. You are literally running on this treadmill with the sole purpose of impressing Juliet, and you just winked at another girl. If Juliet were ever to agree to go on a date with you, would you really change your flirtation ways?"

"Of course I would, dude!" Shawn said, seeming affronted at the mere thought of disloyalty to Juliet. "Juliet would be the only lady in my sight."

Gus sighed again and shrugged. "I just don't know, Shawn. I mean, I don't think you would cheat on her or something, but if you look at it from her perspective... I wouldn't want to date a guy who flirted with that many girls, either."

Shawn smirked. "Gus! I didn't know you'd want to date a guy at all."

" _Shawn_ -" Gus started, before stopping himself. "I really don't think I'm getting through to you."

"No, no, I get it," Shawn insisted. His face was beginning to turn red and his breathing was turning into pants as his run started to take it's toll. "Not only to I have to _look_ good, but I have to _act_ good. But obviously if I am looking _smokin'_ then Juliet will just be happy to have me."

Gus' mouth pinched, but he didn't try to argue. It was a start, at least.

 **linebreaker**

After about 45 minutes at the gym, where they had ran, biked, lifted weights, and done sit ups for what seemed like an eternity, Gus and Shawn hit the smoothy shop.

"Two extra-large pine- _ouch Gus, don't pinch me!_ "

Gus glared at him. "We're getting a small, Shawn."

"Okay, geez dude. I didn't know your order preference had changed since yesterday," Shawn said peevishly, turning back to the drive-though order box. "Sorry, make that an extra large- _GUS STOP!_ "

"No, Shawn!" Gus huffed. "I mean we are _both_ getting smalls."

"Dude, I just sweated my butt off for, like, three hours. I need to be rehydrated," Shawn argued. "Besides, I can get whatever I want."

"If you want your stomach to no longer be a bowl full of jelly, then you will listen to exactly what I say," Gus growled. "If your thirsty, drink water. You can only have _one small smoothy a day_."

"My stomach is _not_ a bowl full of jelly!" Shawn protested, but he turned grumpily back to the ordering box and did what Gus had asked. "Two _small_ pineapple smoothies, please."

"Sorry, can I just confirm that?" the slightly automated voice said from the order box asked uncertainly. "You want... two extra larges, another extra large, and two small pineapple smoothies?"

Shawn snorted, and Gus rolled his eyes, leaning over his friend. "Two small pineapple smoothies are just fine, thank you."

"Um, okay, your order will be at the front window. Have a nice day."

Still chuckling quietly, Shawn pulled up to the window and received their order. The smile fell abruptly off of his face when he saw what was inside the bag. "Dude, these things are _tiny_!"

Gus smiled, primly taking his drink and giving it a long slurp. "But satisfying. Drink up, Shawn, and enjoy your new, fit body."

 **linebreaker**

The next couple of weeks, for Shawn, were complete and utter torture. He was constantly sore, and Gus decided that not only did they have to hit the gym every afternoon after his day-job was done, they had to cut back on basically every food that Shawn loved. No junky cereal, fruit for snack, and they only went out to eat once a week on Friday.

On the upside, Shawn was becoming a pretty good cook, and as Gus said, "Chicks dig that".

After about a month, however, Shawn was beginning to get into a routine. He was drinking at least three bottles of water a day, he could run on the treadmill (and on the road, something he and Gus had started doing) for at least an hour without feeling like he might die, and his squishy "bowl full of jelly" stomach was shaping into something much more shirt-friendly.

Gus and Shawn had taken a bit of a break from cases with the police department, kept busy with other, private cases. Shawn found that he was starting to actively miss Juliet, and he was pleased when he got a call from the Chief that she needed their help.

"This is it, buddy," Shawn said, feeling oddly anxious as he straightened his shirt and smoothed his hair in the mirror. "This is the day that I knock Juliet O'Hera's socks off."

Gus winced a little bit. Yes, Shawn was looking a lot better and quite a bit healthier, but he still didn't think that that had been the reason Juliet was interested in the first place. "Just remember," he cautioned. "Be nice to her, okay? Try to act like an adult-"

"When she sees these guns she's not even gonna know what hit her," Shawn boasted, flexing his newfound muscles and preening like a cat in the sun. "She might faint, right there on the floor."

Gus rolled his eyes. Shawn obviously wasn't going to listen to a word he was saying. He grabbed the keys to the Blueberry and walked outside, leaving Shawn to fix his hair one more time and follow.

When they reached the station, Shawn strutted up the steps and threw open the door. Lassiter rolled his eyes and waisted no time in walking into the Chief's office. Apparently, he had also been put on this case and didn't feel the need to witness any sort of scene that Shawn was about to create. Gus honestly couldn't blame him, and did a semi-unconscious scan of the floor to see if there were any helpful holes he could sink into if the situation called for it.

Shawn strode straight up to Juliet, who glanced over and smiled at him. "Shawn! You haven't been around in awhile." She paused, eyebrows scrunching, and Shawn waited with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "You look... different. Did you change your hair?"

The smile wilted a little bit, but was soon replaced with something even cockier. "No, no, Jules, this hair is too lovely to mess with." Shawn thrust back his shoulders and flexed his arms. "I decided that maybe it was time to reveal my best layer of attractiveness." He winked, and Gus quickly smothered the urge to throw up his hands and walk away. "All for you, of course."

"Shawn..." Juliet mumbled, her face bright pink and not seeming to know what to say. "I... I'm sorry, but I... we've talked about this."

The smile dropped abruptly off of Shawns face and he took a step back. "But- I- obviously this face is _totally_ going to change your mind, amiright?" He glanced back at Gus for support, but Gus just stared at his shoes.

Jules shook her head and bit her lip. "I'm... I'm going to go see what this case is all about," she said softly, hurrying into the Chief's office.

Shawn's shoulders slumped and Gus slowly approached him. Shawn turned toward him, looking miserable. "An entire _month_ of working out, all for her, and she didn't even seem impressed! Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's not my body, maybe it's my- my hair or something- or-"

Gus rested a hand on his shoulder. "Shawn, listen to me. It doesn't matter what you look like. You could be as fat as a toad or as skinny as a stick-bug and Juliet wouldn't care. What she's looking for is someone that will respect her. Someone who will put her first."

"Someone that's not me," Shawn said softly.

"I didn't say that-" Gus started, but Shawn cut him off.

"Tell the Chief that something came up and that I couldn't make it to the meeting. If it's anything interesting... I'll look at it later," he muttered, turning and walking quickly out of the precinct.

 **linebreaker**

"Mr. Guster, _where_ is Mr. Spencer?" the Chief asked in an annoyed voice when Gus walked into the meeting room, alone.

Gus gulped at the annoyed look on her face and nervously shuffled his feet. "Uh... he wasn't, uh, feeling well. He decided he should go home. I can, um, relay any information to him."

Gus glanced over, trying to meet Juliet's gaze, but she dropped her eyes before he could make any real contact.

" _Sick_ ," Lassiter scoffed. "Probably just late for a date with some random girl."

"Actually, Lassiter," Gus said, feeling inclined to stand up for his best friend, who had actually been a lot better in his womanizing since they had had their talk at the gym. "Shawn hasn't gone on any dates with _random girls_ in almost a month now. He's holding out for _one girl in particular_ at the moment..."

Once again, Gus looked over at Juliet. Her face was flushed again and she blinked a few times, rapidly. He could tell she felt bad.

"Well, whatever the reason, please let him know that I will not tolerate this behavior," Chief Vick said testily. "This is an important case, and I called him specifically to take a look at it."

"I will... make sure to relay any information to him," Gus said again, pulling out a notepad from his breast pocket to take notes. "It's not often that Shawn, uh, admits that he's not feeling well and it's probably better for him to go home."

While the bit about Shawn being sick was not strictly true (though Shawn _had_ looked upset enough to pass off as being ill), the bit about it being better for him to go home most certainly was. With any luck, he would go back to the Psych office, and Gus could talk some reason into him.

After the case briefing, during which Gus took so many notes his hand started to cramp, Chief Vick released the trio in her office to get to work.

Gus fished his keys out of his pocket, suddenly realizing that, unless he walked, Shawn wouldn't have had a way to get home. He set off toward the front doors at a quick pace, hoping that Shawn would simply be waiting inside the Blueberry. With any luck, Gus could convince him to come apologize to Juliet for his behavior and they could all go on their merry way. It was his personal opinion that Juliet O'Hera _did_ like Shawn- quite a bit, in fact. She just didn't feel like they could ever make a romantic relationship work with the kind of person Shawn was.

Gus honestly didn't blame her. However, he knew that there was a side of Shawn that very few people could see, a side that was kind and caring and respectful; a side that could commit to something. The last month had proved that much, at least.

Right before Gus reached the bright Santa Barbra air, someone grabbed his arm. He turned to see Juliet, biting her lip and rubbing her thumb against one hand. "Gus... is Shawn actually sick?"

Impressed that she had just come out and asked, Gus shook his head. "No, he's... he needed some time."

Juliet buried her face in her hands. "Oh _man_ , I messed everything up, didn't I? It was just... he did look so good, and I wanted to tell him yes- of course I did! But he just..."

"I know," Gus agreed, patting her shoulder. "He didn't handle it right. Look, I'm going to see if I can find him and go talk to him. I'll text you later?"

"Yeah." Juliet twisted her hands together. "Could you... could you tell him I want to talk to him?"

"I'll.." Gus didn't want to make any promises, but Juliet looked incredibly hopeful and he couldn't tell her outright no. "I'll talk to him."

She bit her lip again, but nodded, and Gus set off toward his car.

Shawn was, unfortunately, not inside the Blueberry when Gus arrived, so the pharmaceutical salesman pulled out his phone and sent him a text.

 _Hey man where r u?_

It took a full five minutes for Shawn to respond, at time spent, Gus guessed, debating the pros and cons of letting Gus know where he was.

 _I'm at home_.

Gus winced. If Shawn had gone home, it was bad with capital B, A and Ds. He stuck the key into the ignition and his car revved to life, speeding off across the pavement.

When he reached Shawn's place, which was a tiny apartment that he barely spent any time in, he locked his car and ran up the steps. When he reached Shawn's room number, he rapped lightly on the wood. "Shawn? You in there?"

"Yeah, man, I'm here."

Shawn was slumped on the couch with a large bag of chips, a low volume sports game on the television. Gus pursed his lips to keep from commenting about the junk food, and took a seat beside his friend. "You better be ready to share those."

Shawn held the bag tighter, daring him to try and take his chips. " _Mine_."

"Juliet says she wants to talk," Gus blurted, unsure as to how else to start the conversation. "She seemed to feel bad about today."

Shawn didn't answer, just shoved another mouthful of chips into his mouth.

"Dude, can I just... be completely honest with you?" Gus said seriously. "The fact that you got rejected today... that was on you. By strutting in there and forcing yourself on Juliet, you made your relationship about _you_ , not her. And I- I get that her reaction wasn't particularly exciting, but..."

"I get it, dude," Shawn said flatly. "I screwed up."

"Yeah, basically," Gus said, though his tone was sympathetic.

They sat in a companionable silence for a moment, the only sound the faint murmur of the TV and Shawn's teeth crunching into the chips. After a couple of moments, Shawn tilted the bag. "You want some?"

"C'mon, son," Gus snorted. "You _know_ I want some."

 **linebreaker**

Gus managed to convince Shawn to drive back to the SBPD... without him.

"This is something you've got to do on your own," he said firmly when Shawn protested that he needed "bro-backup". "I won't always be there to sort out your relationship messes."

"Dude, stop sounding like my mother," Shawn groaned, but he tugged on his helmet and shot off in his motorcycle without his best friend.

By the time he reached the SBPD, his stomach was in knots. He didn't think he had ever been so nervous to talk to a girl before. He had planned on the ride over exactly what he was going to say and how he was going to say it, but even with his eidetic memory everything flew out of his head the second he saw Juliet sitting on the steps of the precinct.

"Jules!" he said, trying for peppy and coming out strained. He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. "I, uh... I wanted to apologize. For earlier. I kind of... threw myself at you and that... that wasn't right. I just... see, you go out with all of these guys and they're tall and handsome and charming and buff, and I guess I just thought that maybe if I worked out a bunch and started to look good then... I could be one of those guys. Because they, you know, they seem to make you happy and that's really all I want."

Juliet stood up, biting her lip. Shawn sighed at her lack of response and turned to go, but she grabbed at his arm. "Wait! That was... uh... a- a really good apology."

"Really?" Shawn asked, wincing. "Because I thought it kinda sucked."

Juliet giggled lightly, her hand still on his arm. "Uh, so... about today..."

"I know, I- I messed up. It's like Gus said... I didn't treat you with respect and I made everything about me." Shawn let out a deep sigh. "And I'm... I'm really sorry. Honestly I just wanted to wow you. Because _giiiirl_ look at these guns!"

Juliet blushed as the heavy mood suddenly lifted and Shawn's muscles flexed under her fingers. She tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling. "I must say... you _do_ look pretty good."

Shawn grinned, leaning down and quickly pecking Juliet on the lips. She gaped at him and his grin widened. "You know that's right."

He turned away to saunter back to his car, but Juliet decided it was _her_ turn to take him by surprise.

She grabbed his arm again, spun him around, and kissed him.

 **Author's Note: Ehhh, that ending was meh but that's alright. I hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know if you want me to write some more Psych fanfictions.**


End file.
